- Release year: 2026
- Director: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
- Producers: Ryan Gosling, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood, and Andy Weir.
- Screenplay by: Drew Goddard.
- Cinematography by: Greig Fraser.
- Music by: Daniel Pemberton.
Synopsis: a scientist wakes up alone, in the middle of nowhere (in space), in a spaceship he does not know how to navigate and with the goal to save the world.
Shotgun Commentary: hilarious despite its unnecessary length.
Review
Project Hail Mary is one of those films that remind me why I loath movies over two hours so much. Don’t get me wrong; I will watch Pulp Fiction (1994), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), Shutter Island (2010), The Dark Knight (2008), etc. without any complaints. However, it is hard to watch a movie over two hours and not see moments where the editor could have easily used more scissors. Sadly, this feature is one of them.
The story begins when Dr Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up in a spaceship far away from home, and from the solar system, for that matter. Things only get even better when he realises that not only does he not remember who he is or why he is in a spaceship, but also, the only two other astronauts that were with him—an engineer and a pilot—didn’t survive the trip. This puts the adorkable Dr Grace in a pickle, as he does not know how to work the spaceship at all. Luckily for him, he will meet another lonely astronaut, and together they will help save planet Earth.
Off-beat, but still good
Now, the story itself is great. The science behind “Project Hail Mary” is really easy to understand, and every experiment is dumbed down so even a child can follow it. Small sideline here: do go watch it with subtitles if you can. It does not have the best enunciators in the world, and sometimes the score does eat up the dialogues, so if you really want to make sure you follow the whole thing, do go for a screener with subs.
Despite the great story, it is still a pretty long movie, and it does get a little dense around the middle. One can enjoy a good relationship development, but when it goes longer than your average Naked Gun (2025) relationship montage, it can become tedious. The balance between the tempo of the main storyline and that of the growing friendship is completely off, and as a result, you do feel a bit like you’re stuck in molasses, no matter how nice the comedic gags are.
Looks are everything
As for the main characters, they are definitely a hit. Ryan Gosling delivers a wonderful performance that will absolutely have you in tears unless something is broken in you. He makes Grace fun, relatable, heartbreaking, and oddly inspiring despite the insane amount of embarrassing moments he goes through. As for his co-star… It will remind you of those Disney pets/companions/sidekicks with big eyes and funny voices that make 90% of the merch of their films. In fact, one would be so bold as to consider this astronaut the evolution that comes after the Disney cutiepies and after Every Everywhere All At Once’s (2022) googly-eyed rocks. An evolution that, despite all logic, still works emotionally.
Last but not least, it is important to talk about the cinematography. Long story short, it is drop-dead gorgeous. I had the luck to have an astrophysicist accompany me to the screening, so I was able to enjoy a long dissertation on how certain phenomena were beautifully—and accurately—portrayed. As a film critic and, admittedly, not a great space enthusiast, I would not be able to relay said dissertation accurately, so I will not even try. Suffice to say, it is a mesmerising spectacle for all audiences and a satisfying portrayal for those who are knowledgeable on the subject.
All in all, Project Hail Mary is a fairly decent watch. It might get a little too long around the middle if you are not particularly fond of space, but the large amount of humour makes it worth it; the story is beautiful, and Gosling’s performance is a sight to behold.
Advice to take from this movie:
- When a German manager gives you a time limit to think over a proposal… it might very well not be a proposal but an order.
- Never underestimate the power of cardboard and tape.
- Not all aliens will feel the need to crawl inside you and tear you apart.
What’s your take? Have you watched Project Hail Mary? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message on my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀
It’s a pixar movie. It’s a kids movie. The trailer promises one thing (loneliness, danger, peril, jeopardy) and the movie delivers slapstick. 2 quick examples:
The astronauts accepting they are going on a suicide mission, joke that they will happily meet their end with alcohol and drugs. There’s no angst about the families they will leave behind.
Grace being kidnapped (kidnapped!!) and the scene is delivered as if a comedy. He’s being kidnapped and sent to his death!
I got more of a sense of loneliness from Passengers. Which forced me to ponder “what would I have done?”. This movie had no sense of being alone and no such dilemma.
It was shot well and Gosling is great. But the movie is for kids.
I hadn’t thought about it that way, but now that you mention it, it does feel a lot like a kids movie. Which I guess is great for parents who want to get their kids into sci-fi and space-related narratives. Still, I enjoyed it; but then again, I was not expecting much angst, going by the humour in the trailer.
I recently watched it in the theatre and I could not have loved it more! The cinematography was astounding, the story had me crying half the time and the space nerdyness of the creators really shines through, which I’ve found is the key ingredient for me in sci-fi, from Star Trek to the Expanse. It’s not enough to set the story in space, you really have to feel the sublime awe of its vastness and the insane ingenuity of the science that has allowed mankind to venture in it, and then project that into the future in a sound, credible way. And this movie definitely hit the spot.
That said, I’m glad I went in without watching trailers judging by the previous comment 😀
I never felt like loneliness was or sould be a central theme in the movie: in fact Grace’s character arc is about finding someone worth sacrificing for, so pretty much the opposite (BTW the placement of that kidnap scene really ties that arc together IMHO). I also appreciate characters using humour as a coping mechanism once they’ve accepted their fate, it definitely felt much less gratuitous to me than say late-Marvel gags every 3min, and avoiding the easy drama there made the dramatic peaks feel more honest… which damn it, I guess I care more about rocks than people now xD